Spouses Of H1B Visa Holders Can Get Automatic Work Permit; Bill Introduced In House of Representatives

A bill that aims to grant an automatic right to H-4 visa holders to work in the country has been introduced in the the House of Representatives by two US lawmakers, Congresswomen Carolyn Bourdeaux and Maria Elvira Salazar.

This move will benefit the spouses of thousands of foreigners, including Indians, and also address the labour shortage affecting American businesses.

Different Types Of Visas

H-4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the United States. Many of those who hold H-4 visa are highly skilled people in their own right and previously had careers of their own or worked to support their families.

H-1B visa is the visa for those technically or theoretically skilled people who want to work in US companies. Though this non-immigrant visa, tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China are hired by technology companies.

While H-2A visas are issued to people doing temporary agricultural jobs, H-2B visas are for people doing temporary nonagricultural jobs and H-3 visas are for nonimmigrant trainees or special education exchange visitors.

The H-4 Work Authorisation Act seeks to change the current law and grant the spouses of H-1B visa holders an automatic right to work after receiving their H-4 visa.

No Need To Apply Form I-765

They said that this would eliminate the need for visa holders to apply for a Form I-765, an Employment Authorisation Document (EAD).

According to the two congresswoman the proposed legislation is aimed at addressing the labour shortage in the country affecting American businesses and helping immigrant families thrive together.

Currently, the H-4 visa holders must apply for work authorisation and wait for it to be processed before they can work, even though they are already in the United States and their spouse is working here.